Jeff Road widening expected to begin soon

View full sizeNew traffic signals will be installed at U.S. 72 and Jeff/Slaughter roads shown here in this Google street view. (Image courtesy Google Maps)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - The daily commute is about to get worse for Monrovia and other northwest Madison County residents whose driving patterns have already been disrupted by the widening of Nance Road north of U.S. 72 and the extension of the Research Park Boulevard limited access lanes.

Work to widen Jeff Road - about a mile east of Nance Road - on both sides of U.S. 72 is expected to begin soon after the City Council approved a $2.1 million construction contract Thursday night. SJ&L General Contractor, which was awarded the contract, has about nine months - or to late December - to complete the project.

The contractor is required to have one lane in each direction open at all times. Periodic closings will be allowed, but must be during off-peak travel times.

The road will be widened to five lanes to the city limits about one-half mile north of U.S. 72 and for about 1,000 feet on the south side of the highway. The road is named Jeff Road on the north side and Slaughter Road on the south side. The project will include new traffic signals at U.S. 72.

On the good news side, Nance Road should reopen shortly after the Jeff Road work begins. Nance Road was closed in May 2010 to be widened to five lanes from U.S. 72 to just north of McCrary Road. The project is scheduled to be completed in May, making that route to U.S. 72 available to residents again.

Jeff Road has been a popular alternative route for motorists who want to avoid the Research Park Boulevard construction between Dan Tibbs Road and Alabama 53.

Parkway overpass work

Bridge work Tuesday night on the Memorial Parkway overpass at Sparkman Drive is expected to cause traffic delays while crews install beams for the new overpass. The Sparkman Drive intersection at Memorial Parkway will be closed from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday for the work, if the weather cooperates.

Eastbound and westbound traffic on Sparkman Drive will be detoured to the Memorial Parkway service roads. Both northbound and southbound service roads will be closed periodically while the work is being done.

Motorists should expect delays and should consider taking alternative routes during that time.

Miller and Miller Inc. crews will be working on the bridge and installing beams during those hours.

Euclid Road stop signs

The city plans to change two intersections on Euclid Road in northwest Huntsville to four-ways stops next month.

The Euclid Drive intersections with Laverne Drive and with Purdy Drive will start operating as four-way stops at about 10 a.m. on April 4, the city Traffic Engineering Department announced. Now, motorists on Euclid Drive have a "yield" sign at Laverne Drive and Purdy Drive.

Euclid Road is west of Pulaski Pike and north of Oakwood Avenue.

Motorists are advised to use caution and obey all traffic control signs at the intersections because of the changes.